The present invention relates generally to forage harvester crop processors and, more particularly, to forage harvester crop processors of the type having a pair of compressor rolls mounted between a cutterhead and a blower.
Forage harvester crop processors are used to receive crop material harvested from the field and to cut and chop it into forage which is fed via a blower to a temporary storage bin or wagon to subsequently be fed to livestock. A common form of forage harvester utilized for this purpose employs a cylindrical type cutterhead which cooperates with a shearbar to cut and chop crop material as it is fed over the shearbar. Although a variety of crops are processed by forage harvesters, one of the more common crops is corn.
It is not uncommon while processing corn with a forage harvester of the type having a cylindrical cutterhead for less than half of the corn kernels to be cracked or cut during the processing. It has been learned that when uncracked or uncut corn kernels are subsequently fed to cattle, the cattle may not be able to utilize the full food value of the chopped corn. This is because the digestive system of cattle is such that they will not digest all of the corn kernels if some of the kernels have not been cracked or cut.
In view of the above, it has been necessary in the past to additionally condition corn before it is fed to cattle. One system of additionally conditioning corn utilizes transverse cracking bars of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,411 issued Aug. 14, 1973, in the name of A. W. Blanshine. Other prior art systems include the use of recutter screens and hammermills. Still another system contemplates a pair of cooperating upper and lower compressor rolls mounted in close proximity to the cutterhead and adapted to receive crop material and crack kernels of corn prior to conveyance to a discharge blower such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,417 issued Aug. 24, 1982, to Harold deBuhr et al.
While the general type of machine disclosed in the above-mentioned deBuhr et al patent provides satisfactory results when processing corn, it encounters problems when used for processing grass crops such as alfalfa. In particular, the problems encountered are plugging of the compressor rolls, excessive horsepower requirement, and reduced capacity. One solution to these problems is to entirely remove both of the compressor rolls before processing grass crops. This solution is unacceptable because it is very difficult and time consuming to remove the upper compressor roll. Another attempt at solving these problems has been to remove only the lower compressor roll and replace it with a floor pan. This attempt has proven unsuccessful because some plugging still occurs in the area between the upper compressor roll and the floor pan, thereby requiring excessive horsepower and reducing capacity.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a forage harvester crop processor which satisfactorily processes corn and which is easily and quickly converted to process grass crops without plugging, without requiring excessive horsepower, and without reducing capacity.
The forage harvester crop processor of the present invention includes means for cutting and chopping crop material, a compressor roll assembly for further conditioning crop material that has been previously cut and chopped by the cutting and chopping means, and means for discharging crop material that has been further conditioned by the compressor roll assembly. While the compressor roll assembly normally comprises upper and lower compressor rolls arranged to further condition crop material therebetween, the present invention provides a paddle wheel assembly for replacing one of the compressor rolls. The paddle wheel assembly includes paddles for conveying cut and chopped crop material from the cutting and chopping means to the discharging means while causing only minimal further conditioning of the cut and chopped crop material.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the paddle wheel assembly replaces only the lower compressor roll and includes a shaft with a pair of hubs mounted thereon. The paddles are mounted on the shaft between the hubs. A pair of plates are each preformed to wrap partially around the shaft, and each of the plates has a flat portion extending outwardly tangentially from the shaft to define one of the paddles. Preferably, the paddles are arranged approximately 180.degree. apart with respect to the axis of the shaft.